By: Russ Burlingame on January 10, 2013
It’s not entirely uncommon for a cult-hit, fan-favorite series to be the subject of petitioning and pleading by comics fans to keep the title alive when it appears all hope is lost, sales-wise, but Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker’s Avengers Arena has it the other way.
A group of fans have gathered to petition for the cancellation of the just-launched Marvel NOW! series, which pits young heroes against one another in a Hunger Games-style battle royale (no pun intended) at the mercy of the supervillain Arcade.
“Marvel has gathered together our favorite teenaged characters in a gambit to ride the coattails of The Hunger Games recent success,” the petition reads. “We cannot allow these young heroes in training to be killed off, it is an injustice to them and the future of comics – even if the majority of the comic populace; neither care, nor have heard of them. Each of these characters, established before this book, have seen substantial personal growth; growth which is about to be snuffed out in the name of sales. Let us show Marvel that we will not let this transgression go unremarked. Let us show that we will not allow our beloved characters to fade quietly into the night. Let us show Marvel that we are their dedicated fans and these are the characters we love! Join me by signing this petition, and help me show Marvel that this is not the right thing to do, that we will not sit idly by while they lump our beloved characters into the debris pile they have collected. Thank you, each and every one of you , even if you do not sign. So long as you have read this I have seeded the thought of this travesty against fans into your mind.”
“It was worse before the first issue dropped. Most people who reach out now are fans of the book,” said writer Hopeless when asked about “nerd rage” over the title on Twitter.
Earlier today, Marvel Comics released one of their “To be Continued” teaser images for the series, the first yet that teases a continuing creative team, rather than an artistic change as has been seen on The Indestructible Hulk, Thunderbolts, Deadpool and others.
